Peasant Politics in Bretonnia
If merchants are excluded from politics, peasants are even further removed. Most are too poor to bribe nobles or hire guards, and their chief concern is simply surviving the next harvest. Yet peasants are not entirely without voice.
When suffering under a cruel lord or corrupt bailiff, villages sometimes appeal for relief. A single peasant would never be heard, so petitions are made collectively. To avoid producing “ringleaders” for hanging, villagers may rehearse their complaint in unison, march in circles so no one stands at the front, or use an outsider—often an adventurer—to present their case. Results vary: sympathetic lords may listen, but harsher ones make examples at random.
Thus, peasants prefer to settle problems without involving nobles. Most disputes arise not from direct lordly abuse but from quarrels with neighboring villages, corrupt officials, or impossible taxes.
Arguments often concern rights to shared land, rivers, or forests. Villages send “ambassadors” to meet on neutral ground and negotiate. If compromise fails, tradition allows for ritual combat. The terms—numbers, weapons, victory conditions—are agreed in advance, with death matches rare. Such contests, though brutal, are respected, since they prevent noble intervention.
Corrupt bailiffs are common. Since only a lord can dismiss them, peasants resort to trickery: hiding produce during assessments, planting “extra” grain in the bailiff’s stores, or thanking their lord for a bountiful harvest that mysteriously yields low taxes. Many bailiffs collude with villagers, splitting profits while deceiving the lord. But discovery can be disastrous.
The greatest danger is excessive taxation. When demands exceed what a harvest can bear, peasants sometimes stage “thefts,” having the tribute stolen by “outlaws” en route to their lord. Most nobles pursue bandits rather than force villages into starvation.
Because these struggles are hidden, many lords believe their peasants live in harmony, free of real troubles. Even sympathetic nobles often see no need for reform.
When burdens grow unbearable, peasants revolt. Such uprisings are rare, but always violent and shocking to nobles who never saw the suffering beneath the surface. No revolt has ever succeeded, as Bretonnian nobles unite to crush them. Survivors are executed or scattered, ensuring continued obedience.
The most common cause is ruinous taxation—when death by starvation seems worse than death in battle. Sometimes revolts are stirred by rival nobles seeking distraction, promising better treatment if victorious (a promise only occasionally kept).
The most dangerous uprisings are those tainted by Chaos. Oppressed villages may turn to the Ruinous Powers, producing mutants or rallying with Beastmen. These outbreaks surged during the Storm of Chaos while much of Bretonnia’s strength was abroad. Returning knights stamped them out with ruthless zeal, though isolated pockets linger in secret.
Adventurers often find themselves caught in such turmoil—hired to aid oppressed peasants, only to discover their allies bear the mark of Chaos. In Bretonnia, even the simple struggle for survival can hide corruption, rebellion, and damnation.
While the Cult of the Lady is reserved mainly for the nobility, Bretonnian peasants worship the standard Old World gods, adapted to their daily lives.
Ulric has few followers and even fewer shrines.
Myrmidia attracts some peasant bowmen and men-at-arms, though her association with mercenaries limits her appeal.
Manann is honoured by sailors, and Verena by scholars and village elders; a few justice-driven Merry Men also revere her.
Sigmar is not worshipped in Bretonnia.
Morr, guardian against the restless dead, is important across all classes. Most Gardens of Morr are fortified, and even nobles entrust their dead to his priests.
Ranald is popular in towns and cities, especially among merchants, whom Bretonnians often view as little different from thieves.
Taal and Rhya are vital to farmers, hunters, and even outlaws, who see themselves as hunters rather than criminals. Shrines to these deities are common in villages and the countryside.
By far the most important deity for peasants is Shallya, the goddess of healing and compassion. Life for a peasant is harsh, and Shallya’s aid is essential. No village lacks a shrine, and most are centrally located. Nobles have begun endowing small Shallya shrines near Grail Chapels, a practice growing in popularity. The principal temple of Shallya is in Couronne, but it holds little political influence, allowing her priests to focus entirely on healing and aid.
A persistent peasant belief—considered heresy by the Church—is that the Lady of the Lake serves Shallya, guiding the nobility to protect the common folk. The exemplary behaviour of Grail Knights lends some weight to this idea. However, Grail Knights and Damsels rigorously suppress such beliefs, and investigations have never revealed an organized following; it seems to emerge naturally among the common people.
In Bretonnia, then, peasant religion is practical and protective, focused on survival, justice, and relief, while noble worship remains lofty and mystical.
Merchants and Trade
Merchants hold an unusual place in Bretonnian society. Almost all are peasants, since few nobles lower themselves to trade, yet many merchants grow wealthier than the lords they serve. Bretonnia relies heavily on trade: its wine flows across the Old World, while foreign luxuries are brought back in exchange. Were merchants to act together, they could disrupt the realm—but their position remains precarious.
As peasants, merchants are technically bound by the same laws as farmers, expected to surrender most of their income to their lords. Yet Bretonnian law was written with agriculture in mind. Since merchants produce nothing, most of their profits slip through legal loopholes. This arrangement endures thanks to conservative custom and heavy bribery, which many nobles find more profitable than taxation. Gifts—lavish chalices, embroidered robes, or discreet supplies of food and firewood—maintain noble favour. A famous tale tells of a merchant in Quenelles presenting the same golden chalice to his lord each year, buying it back the next day to keep the lord fed.
To protect their goods, merchants employ guards, sometimes forming private armies. Against one rival they may hold their own, but they dare not provoke the nobility as a whole. So long as they respect the social order, wealthy merchants can exist effectively above the law. Some seek to rise higher still, marrying into impoverished noble houses. In such bargains, nobles trade status for coin, while merchants gain protection and influence.
Though guilds are not legally recognised—peasants hold no such rights—merchants often band together in clubs, which act as guilds in all but name. Members favour one another in trade, shut out rivals, and sometimes claim monopolies over cities or goods. Lacking legal authority, they enforce rules through intimidation, bribery, and violence. The line between merchant clubs and criminal syndicates is often blurred.
Feuds between clubs can devastate towns: the port of Dalron in Lyonesse was ruined when a trade war between two factions left its warehouses in ashes, its people turning to banditry under the victorious syndicate.
Brethren of the Lighthouse – Dominating trade in L’Anguille for over three centuries, this wealthy club includes the Fitzgodrics, richest merchant family in Bretonnia. They watch Marienburg closely, seeking to emulate its independence.
The Rooster and Kettle – Once petty peddlers, now influential traders importing firearms from the Empire and Dwarfs. With Bretonnian nobles scorning such “unchivalrous” weapons, the group nears a monopoly on their use—worrying some dukes.
Inequitable Life – A shadowy syndicate in the western duchies, dealing in illicit goods and slavery under the cover of pharmacies and labour agencies. Rumours hint at darker masters, and critics often meet sudden deaths.
Blue Bloods – Membership requires noble ancestry within two generations. Status depends on wealth and blood, with the goal of raising merchants into nobility. Many scoff at its ambition, but some see it as a path to true power.